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Hall of Fame Game Gives Clear Hint About Panthers' Plan at Free Safety
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- Hall of Fame Game Gives Clear Hint About Panthers' Plan at Free Safety
The Carolina Panthers kicked off the preseason in the best way possible. The team won an exciting Hall of Fame Game over the Arizona Cardinals , and we saw plenty of positive signs.
We knew heading into the game that the Panthers would not play any starters. Head coach Dave Canales even decided not to play some important backups, like running back Jonathon Brooks . Basically, the players who expect to play big roles in 2026 watched this game from the sidelines.
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The interesting thing about that is how the free safety position was handled. Heading into the summer, many wondered if rookie Zakee Wheatley or second-year Lathan Ransom would challenge Nick Scott for the starting role.
There's still plenty of time until the regular season, but it seems like there's not much competition here after all.
Nick Scott Clearly Set to be the Starter
Because Scott is a veteran and experienced starter, it wasn't that surprising that he didn't see the field on Thursday night .
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However, it was a bit surprising that Wheatley played as many snaps as he did. The rookie was on the field for 35 defensive snaps, and Demani Richardson was the only safety who was on the field more.
If Wheatley were seriously being considered as a starter over Scott, it's doubtful he would have been on the field as much as he was. The rookie has been quiet for most of training camp, and it seems obvious the coaching staff wanted to see more from him.
To be fair, Wheatley did play well for the most part. The fifth-round pick led the team in tackles, but he did have a couple of bad moments in coverage. The whole secondary was pretty disappointing, as the Cardinals' quarterbacks only threw five combined incompletions on the night.
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Lathan Ransom played a substantial amount of snaps as well, being on the field for 22 defensive snaps. Again, if the Panthers felt like Wheatley or Ransom could beat out Scott, they wouldn't have been on the field for as many snaps as they were.
Will Panthers Regret Not Adding More to Secondary?
The two starting corners, Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson , and the starting strong safety Tre'von Moehrig , are all great starters. However, Wheatley was the only free safety added, and the cornerback depth didn't inspire much confidence on Thursday.
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If Scott is indeed the starter again, he will need to play better than he did in 2025. Scott was the 57th-ranked safety in the league as a run defender in 2025, and he allowed a 115.7 passer rating when targeted in coverage.
Scott is loved by the coaching staff, but with a promising rookie like Wheatley, the thought was that the veteran could be on the hot seat. Based on what we've seen so far, though, Scott is in line to get one more chance to start.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Aug 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
